Medart Lecture Series to Feature Authors

December 15, 2008

The historic women’s movement in America, the role of major league sports in society and the impact of technology on language are featured topics of the 13th annual Medart Lecture Series at Maryville University. A faculty colloquium of finished and current research projects will launch the spring semester series.

“Medart Series lecturers have all contributed in a meaningful and lasting way to our understanding of contemporary society,” said Germaine Murray, Ph.D., professor of English and director of the endowed lecture program. “Each year we invite academic, scholarly and artistic figures who elevate the intellectual and cultural life of our time.”

The Medart Series begins Feb. 12, with a faculty colloquium. Guest lecturers include: Sally Roesch Wagner, Ph.D., on Feb. 24; Mark Bowden on March 11; and Naomi Susan Baron on April 6. All programs begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Maryville University Auditorium.

Sally Roesch Wagner – Feb. 24
Sally Roesch Wagner, Ph.D., an early founder of a women’s studies program and longtime professor in the field, is the featured speaker on Feb. 24. Currently serving as executive director of the Gage Foundation in Fayetteville, New York, Wagner is the nation’s foremost authority on Matilda Joslyn Gage, an often unacknowledged leader in the woman suffrage movement in the United States. The author of numerous books, Wagner’s most recent title is, She Who Holds the Sky: Matilda Joslyn Gage.

Wagner has appeared on PBS and written for a number of PBS documentaries, and has been interviewed on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and “Democracy Now.”

Mark Bowden – March 11
St. Louis-born author Mark Bowden will discuss his latest book, The Best Game Ever: The Birth of the Modern NFL, on March 11. In his book, Bowden explores the significance of the National Football League in modern society.

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War – Bowden’s international bestselling book – was a finalist for the National Book Award. He worked on the screenplay for the film, Black Hawk Down. He is currently working on another screenplay for his book, Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw, the story of the hunt for Columbian cocaine billionaire Pablo Escobar.

Author of seven books, Atlantic Monthly national correspondent and regular contributor to other major magazines, Bowden is also an adjunct professor in creative writing and journalism at Loyola College of Maryland.

Naomi Susan Baron – April 6

Naomi Susan Baron, Ph.D., will discuss “Control Freaks: How Language Technologies are Reshaping Future Communication,” on April 6. Her book, Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, was published in the past year.

A professor of linguistics, Baron is also co-director of the TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Program in the Department of Language and Foreign Studies at American University.

Baron is principally interested in computer-mediated communication, writing and technology, language in social context, language acquisition and the history of English. A Gugggenheim Fellow, Fulbright Fellow and past president of the Semiotic Society of America, Baron has authored seven books.

Faculty Colloquium – Feb. 12

The Medart Lecture Series will kickoff with a faculty colloquium, which provides a competitive opportunity for faculty members to showcase their latest and ongoing research.

“We are currently accepting proposals. The two most compelling projects will be presented to the entire faculty,” Murray said. “There are a lot of interesting things going on at Maryville, and this gives us a forum to share in each other’s excitement and success.”

The Medart Lecture Series was founded by the late Josephine Medart, Trustee Emeritus of Maryville University and former member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the University Board of Trustees.

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